Richmond A National Leader in HospitalityWe thought we would share with you an excerpt from an Op/Ed featured in the Richmond Times Dispatch on July 23, 2015

"July 19-25 marks National Hospitality House Week. Richmond residents might be surprised to learn that our fair city is home to The Doorways, one of the first and largest hospitality houses in the nation.

Hospitality houses embody the very best a city like Richmond has to offer by providing families in medical crisis an affordable, compassionate place to stay when the specialized medical treatment they require isn’t available in their own communities.

Since its founding in 1984, The Doorways, a former hotel on 7th and Marshall Streets, has provided lodging to 150,000 guests seeking medical treatment for themselves or their loved ones. Today, The Doorways offers 112 rooms and welcomes nearly 8,000 patients and family members annually.

The need for hospitality housing has grown dramatically in recent years. Rising health care costs and evolving technologies mean far more specialized, life-saving or rehabilitative treatments are performed on an outpatient basis.

This is a comforting option for those who live within a few miles of their doctor or hospital. But each and every day, thousands of children, adults and veterans are told they need critical health care that simply isn’t available where they live.

For families who must commute for days, weeks or months at a time to access the health care they need, the costs and logistics of simply getting to treatment is so daunting, many will consider forgoing their treatment altogether.

Imagine the heartbreak of missing out on a life-saving organ transplant because you couldn’t afford to stay within 30 minutes of the hospital once you finally rose to the top of the transplant list. Imagine the exhausting physical toll of driving your child two, three or four hours per day for a ten-day round of chemotherapy. These are the challenges thousands of families in our country face every single day.

These are also the landscapes that hospitality houses – and the communities that rally behind them – have the power to change. By removing the financial barriers of seeking treatment in an unfamiliar place, hospitality houses make critical health care both a possibility and a reality for all who need it.

Asking only a small donation in return, The Doorways in RVA, and hospitality houses across the country, give families the irreplaceable luxury of focusing on their loved ones’ health and healing rather than the physical, emotional and financial toll of commuting and extended hotel stays.

As a Richmonder, I know I am extremely fortunate to have a wealth of health care options at my fingertips. But it’s Richmond’s trailblazing commitment to providing our neighbors near and far with access to that health care that gives me such a tremendous sense of pride when calling this great city home."

Wyatt Beazley is Chairman of the Board of The Doorways and Partner at Williams Mullen. To learn more about The Doorways and how you can help support its efforts, visit www.TheDoorways.org

WISH LIST

Pantry Items

+ Canned Foods*

+ Rice/Pasta Sides*

+ Ready to go Meals*

+ Ground Coffee*

+ Sugar, Salt & Pepper*

+ Non-dairy Creamer*

+ Snack Foods

+ Vegetable Oil

+ 12oz Sodas/Drinks

+ Cereals

+ Trial Size Items*

+ Shampoo/Conditioner

+ Shaving Cream

+ Toothpaste

+ Soap*

+ Deodorant

+ Disposable Razors

+ Lotion

Daily House Items

+ Toilet Paper

+ Paper Towels

+ Stainless Steel Cookware

+ Silverware & Cutlery

+ Liquid Laundry Detergent

+ Dishwasher Detergent

+ Glass Cleaner

+ 10, 45, 50 gallon trash bags

+ Hand Sanitizer

+ Paper Plates

+ Plastic Utensils

+ Flat Screen Televisions

+ Artwork

+ DVDs

+ Irons

+ Other

DONATE MONEY DONATE TIME DONATE GOODS

Summer/Fall 2015

Save The DaTe

Toast - New American Gastropub10% of Sales Benefits The Doorways Monday, September 14, 2015 5:00 P.M. – 11:00 P.M. *Address: 7007 Three Chopt Road

Golf Tournament to benefit The DoorwaysHosted by The Kiwanis Club of Midlothian-Chesterfield Monday, September 21, 2015Stonehenge Country Club *Register online at www.kiwanisofchesterfield.org

Keep in Touch:(p) 804-828-6901 (f) 804-828-6913info@thedoorways.org

Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HospitalHospitalityHouse

The Doorways provides lodging and support for patients

and their loved ones who need to be close to the hospital

but not far from the feeling of home.

612 East Marshall StreetRichmond, Virginia 23219

Non Profit Orgn.U.S. Postage

PAIDPermit #1716

Richmond, VA

SAVOR 2015 Saturday – October 17, 20156:00 PMThe Jefferson Hotel*Register online at www.thedoorways.org

Coming Soon: The Doorways 15 in ’1515 friends. 15 dollars. 15 meals. 15 shares.What’s your 15?

~ 2015-16 Governing Board ~Wyatt Beazley, IV

ChairmanMelissa Ball Chair Elect

Kelli Meadows Treasurer

Cathy Plotkin Secretary

~ Directors ~ Maureen Denlea Earl Ferguson

Linda Georgiadis Marsha Ginther

Lynn Green Mark Herndon Marcos Irigaray

Joe Labella John Lewis Ginny Little

Beth McClelland Brett Mutnick Nicholas Pace John Poma

Marianne Radcliff Jamie Sutton

John Syer Kate Van Sumeren

Bobby Whitten Wanda Yu

~ Honorary Life Members ~Mary Ruth Anneren

Robert Busch Elizabeth Dunn

Gloria Hintz Jacqueline Nichols Nancy Pendergast

~ The Doorways Staff ~Stacy Brinkley

President / CEOShawn M. Walker

Chief Financial OfficerTom Enders

Director of OperationsBeverly Bean

Director of Development Kate Lawton

Annual Fund and Grants ManagerJ.C. Poma

Community Outreach ManagerMichael Blumberg

Guest Relations Manager Annie Fruhwald Office ManagerJay Randolph

Maintenance ChiefDebbie Cox

Housekeeping Supervisor

Y ou can see it in the way she walks through the Massey Cancer Center – greeting patients as she goes. “I am constantly amazed by the stories people share with me,” says Becky Massey, whose

family name greets all who come through the center’s front doors. “Because of their treatments,” she continues, “they have hope.”

The Massey Cancer Center is a National Cancer Institute designated Center of Excellence – one of only 69 cancer centers located in 35 states around the United States. People come from all over Virginia to receive treatment at Massey, and many come from rural communities where advanced cancer care is simply not available.

This is why Becky and her family also support The Doorways, whose mission is to provide lodging and support for patients and their loved ones who need to be close to the hospital but not far from the feeling from home. Far beyond a warm bed and a hot meal at the end of a long day, The Doorways provides patients and their families with peace of mind. Becky knows how much this means to patients at Massey Cancer Center. “When you are told you have cancer and you have to travel just to receive treatment, it’s extremely overwhelming,” she explains. “No one should have to worry about where they will stay while they receive the life-saving care they need.

For this reason alone, The Doorways is an important partner for cancer patients being treated at VCU Medical Center and Massey Cancer Center,” Becky says. “We are so fortunate and appreciative to have them here in our Richmond community!”

The Doorways brand mantra states, “We think Southern hospitality is a universal life skill, not a regional curiosity.”

At The Doorways, evening activities epitomize this line in our mantra, and are something that allow The Doorways to be a place where community generosity and compassionate care come together to support guests during a time of healing and need.

Like many nonprofit organizations, The Doorways could not reach all of the people it serves without its large corps of dedicated volunteers. These volunteers set the tone for our guests, and transform the hospitality house from a hotel-like environment into a place of friendship and support.

In Fiscal Year 2015, more than 800 volunteers provided a whopping almost 15,000 hours of service and 130 nights of evening entertainment or home cooked meals for our guests. The atmosphere created by these evenings are an important part of fulfilling The Doorways' mission.

While some guests stay at The Doorways for only a few nights, many are here for weeks or even months at a time. These evening activities and meals create a friendly, family-like environment in which guests can share stories, talk about their days, as well as lend support to - and receive support from - one another.

At a recent youth group dinner, one guest pulled aside The Doorways' Community Outreach Manager, J.C. Poma, and said “Thank you for putting these dinners together. Without these dinners, I would be very lonely upstairs.”

It's amazing what a group of volunteers and a couple hours of entertainment or a family-style meal can do for our guests during a very stressful time in their lives, and we're grateful for each and every volunteer who gives their time to The Doorways. If you know of a group who would like to dedicate an evening to making our guests feel a little bit more at home, please contact J.C. Poma, jpoma@TheDoorways.org.

Volunteer Spotlight

Donor Story - Becky Massey is on a Mission Presidents CornerHappy Almost fall! Spring and summer have flown by and we have so much to share about the progress being made at The Doorways.

The Fancy Hat Party was held on April 30th and Deborah Norville was the featured speaker. The event was a huge success. Ms. Norville spoke beautifully about gratitude and made a big impact on everyone in the audience. We raised over $74,000 at the event, the proceeds of which help us provide lodging and support services to the thousands of guests who come to The Doorways each year.

In May, we implemented a new guest registration system that allows us to manage our room inventory on a paperless and real time basis. This is a huge improvement over the paper-driven, fax-centered system we used prior to this. Just like a hotel, the new technology helps our team

better manage available rooms, rooms that need cleaning, and rooms that are on hold for maintenance.

In June, we turned our focus to making building repairs and ensuring our building was structurally sound. These are the types of things that no one likes to spend money on, but they need to be done to make sure our building stays ready for service long into the future. We initiated sprinkler system upgrades and a number of structural remediation projects including EIFS repairs, safety railing and parking deck repairs. We added new LED lighting in our stairwells and parking garage which will help us lower costs and save man-hours replacing bulbs (the new lighting should last 25 years without a new lightbulb!!).

In July, we kicked off our master space planning process with our architects, The Johannas Group. Scott Corwin and Dave Johannas are helping us systematically optimize our current space as we think about our needs today and into the future.

And, wrapping up August, we just held an extremely successful 10th Annual Gilbane Restaurant Walk. The event raised $22,000 to support The Doorways! A huge thank you to our 20 sponsors and participating restaurants, which included Barrel House, Cha Cha’s Cantina, Southern Railway Taphouse and The Tobacco Company Restaurant.

This month, we are also hanging artwork created for our guest hallways by the Advanced Art class at The Steward School, starting our kitchen renovation, and implementing a new keyless door locking system for our guest rooms. Perhaps the most exciting improvement for the staff and volunteers is the new transponder-activated garage door opener!!! No more honking at the front desk, staff can simply press a button from their car to open the door. It’s the little things that make us all happy.

Over the past few months, our volunteer hours have continued to increase and it’s important to make sure everyone knows The Doorways couldn’t do what we do without the dedicated support of the more than 800 volunteers who make dinners, work the front desk, help us clean, and do so many tasks that help us run smoothly. Thank you, volunteers, you are amazing!

Coming soon! The Doorways is unveiling a new website! Be sure to check it out at www.TheDoorways.org. This great new site is made possible by CapTech. David Kearfott generously donated his time and expertise and we are very excited about the great work he is doing.

Also coming soon is our largest fundraiser of the year, SAVOR. We are hard at working planning for this 7th Annual event, which will be held October 17th at The Jefferson Hotel. Tickets are available at www.thedoorways.org. We have a fabulous line up of award winning chefs including Jeff Corwin from the Food Network’s Extreme Cuisine, Bryan Voltaggio from Volt and Family Meal, and Travis Milton of the soon-to-be-opened Shovel and Pick. The evening promises to be an “Extremely Delicious Way to Make a Difference”, and we hope you will join us for this fabulous evening. Tickets are on sale now at our web site, www.TheDoorways.org.

As we look towards the fall, I want to say many, many thanks to each and every one of you for supporting The Doorways and the almost 8,000 guests who stay with us annually. We are one big family, and you are a very important part of it.

Warmly,

Stacy

President/CEO Stacy Brinkley